Bitter Sweet
by Envo
Summary: AU Itasaku. Things you have today may not be there tomorrow; for life is an ever-changing cycle, and nothing lasts forever.
1. Chapter 1

Title- Bitter Sweet

By- Envo

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 1

_"When I saw you, I was afraid to meet you. When I meet you, I was afraid to kiss you. When I kiss you, I'm afraid to love you. Now that I love you, I'm afraid of loosing you." - Anonymous_

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"… _As for today's weather, we will remain foggy for the rest of the week with the possibility of __scattered __showers__ around the region__. Occasional sun breaks for today, high in the low tenths and dipping low into the single digits in the evening…"_

Outside, the gray pavement and the white walls of the parliament building accompanied by shades of dark green leaves and small flower buds of white and red drags by slowly. The overcast sky above cloaks everything within its reach with its grayish hue, adding a sense of gloom into the morning of a slowly starting Saturday.

The silhouette of a woman's face reflects onto the window: long, lush eyelashes veiling over large, watery emerald eyes and shoulder length hair of a strange, pale pink tint framing a heart-shape face with rosy cheeks and full lips. Eyes shift away from the view and turns to the windshield before her; ahead, the lights flashes to yellow, signaling the soon-to-come stop among the heavy traffic.

Almost in an instant, she can feel waves of disapproval from the scrutinizing gaze pinning on her as she covers the yawn with long, lean fingers.

"Does the director know you pulled two consecutive shifts yesterday, Sakura?"

She stifles a sigh and looks over to her left to the person behind the wheel. "What she doesn't know won't hurt, Itachi."

Piercing obsidian eyes stare at her blankly before turning away. Her companion has on a prim uniform with 'Police' stitched onto a crest attaching to the left shoulder. His long, raven hair is tied back to the nape and the pair of intense eyes that can easily disarm her and reduce her into nothingness are trained on the slow moving traffic ahead. The radio hooked onto the small pocket on the right shoulder remain silent as he often insisted a quiet morning before starting his day.

Smiling tiredly to herself, she continues, "I'm perfectly fine, Itachi. Besides, I get a three-day break after this," she reassures the silent man lightly after receiving his silent, disbelieving look, "it's well worth it."

Bright emerald orbs stares at the long line of vehicle moving slowly ahead and sighs, "Must be an accident." She then glances down at the electronic clock on the dock and frowns at the time lost on the road. With a pout, she mutters, "Brakes are created for a reason."

"That's hardly enough."

Following up on the raven-haired man's comment, she tilts her head and ponders, "True, but they can't rely on seatbelts all the time when they forgot the existence of the brakes. Seatbelts don't exactly guarantee a painless trip to the hospital, you know? What they should do is go back and retake their driver's class and learn the existences and uses of brakes."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Her pink tresses swivels around as she looks to his eyes and blinks, "What?"

"Three days is hardly enough for your workload."

She rolls her eyes then. "I can say the same thing to you." She knew that, though as much as he wants to protest, he is every bit of a workaholic as she. Not being able to see each other for weeks sometimes, they've come to an agreement that at the very least, both of them will make the effort of taking days off from work on the special day. Counting the today, they've been together for 3 years as of now.

_As a surgeon-in-training as well as a part-time paramedic, she sees every phases of life in peril. It does not surprise her much to see blood__;__ after all, it entails in her job. Having a survival rate just shy of the Legendary Tsunade makes her part-time shift on the work seems like a full-time job. She doesn't mind so much about her workload, as it is in her blood to save as many as she can._

_What drives her to the wall in the short span of five months into her work however, is__ the__ repeat__ing request made__ by a certain egotistic, insufferable officer with superiority complex__ and selective hearing__. _

_For once, after the thirty-fourth time of this week, she finds herself sitting beside her partner in a speeding ambulance, thanking whoever that is out there watching for allowing her an entire week of peace.__ Thinking of him is enough to make her previously conten__t__ed day come tumbling down to oblivion__. The higher-ups must have had a fun time arranging his call to her __cell__ every time._

"_This is ridiculous," she mutters with a frown as their vehicle makes a sharp 'U' turn off the main road, rounding the corner and speeds into the quiet neighborhood. __With the s__hrilling siren echo__ing__ in the night along with the flash of red projecting ghostly beams into the shadows__, her blond partner drives them closer and closer to their destination with neck-breaking speed._

"_Yes it is. People just don't know how to drive these days," her partner to the side guns the engine harder, forcing the already-passed-the-speed-limit vehicle to go faster after spending precious time waiting in a traffic jam. But as always, he misinterpreted the meaning behind her words._

"_If it wasn't for your uniform, I'd mistaken you as a taxi driver from the east coast__," she snorts lightly as their destination approaches; the grip on her case tightens ever-so-slightly._

"_That's why I love this job. I get to speed without getting a ticket." From the corner of her eye, she sees him flashing a cheeky grin and wonders inwardly how he had managed to pass the test for the job without getting booted within the first week. _

_With a swivel to the side of the road, the car shrieks to a stop beside two hastily parked, lights flashing patrol cars. _

"_I feel sorry for whoever is taking over my position by the end of this month. Make sure to prepare some paper bags, I'm sure whoever that is will get carsick the first day on the job," she yells over her shoulders. With the door swing wide open, she hops out of the car and sprints to the small cluster huddling on the side of the road several paces away._

_Silently cursing her failing vision, she tries to make out the blurry outlines of each individual in the hazy night with the best of her abilities. Luckily for her, someone noticed their arrival. An anxious face beaded with perspiration floats before her sight. But what draws her attention is the widespread, dark colored stain across the usually prim uniform.__ To her luck, however, this one is not hurt._

_"I'm Haruno Sakura from the Tokyo Medical University Hospital, how is the situation?"_

"_Two victims on the third floor of the complex," an index finger is pointed towards the ten-story high building to her left, "one is in the—"_

"_-kitchen and the other in the living room? I'm on it. Sakura, go ahead and get that man patched up. Hinata and I will tend to the rest."_

_Her shoulder length, pink strands fans in the air as she whirls around to the owner of the interjecting voice she has grown to know so well. _

"_Ino! When did you—I am not doing the easy job—"_

_Two large sapphire orbs stare straight back at her emerald ones blankly, and in an instant, she knew starting an argument with her colleague and friend over this kind of matter at this point is useless. "Fine. We'll talk later."_

"_Get going, Sakura," Ino instructs and lifts a long, manicured finger lazily towards the slowly growing crowd before leaping away from her and the long-forgotten, nameless officer to her side._

_Stealing a glance to the weary man beside her, she lets out a tired sigh. "Please brief me the situation while we make our way there, sir."_

_Snapping back to attention, the man gives a curt nod and begins, "It was supposed to be a simple robbery case. We answered the call and came to th__is__ neighborhood. When we realize__d__ the burglar __was__ still in the house and armed, we __requested__ back up. __T__hat's when Uchiha-san and his partner came—"_

"_Uchiha?" Her sure footsteps pause as she spins around and stares incredulously at the man. All thoughts fly out of her mind as the name rings in the night. _

"_Yes." Slightly bewildered, the man winces at her suddenly sharp tone._

_Regaining her composure, she clears her throat against the sudden wave of heat rushing up her cheeks, "I'm sorry, sir. Please continue—"_

"_You are late."_

_S__queezing her eyes shut and s__ilently breathing in to calm her raging nerves, she__ glances up__ and__ brings her chin high to meet the pair of never-ending tunnels of onyx and the deep baritone radiating displeasure._

"_Traffic jam," her reply is short and simple; it is not enough to give away her emotions but suffices for an answer._

_A loud voice booms in the night, "You again!" _

_Rubbing her temples to coax away the upcoming headache, she sighs at the quickly approaching, tactless blond who has his index finger directing towards the obviously not-so-happy officer, who is making his way towards her._

_A __disapproving __frown etches __onto__ the shadowed face __is now visiable __even under dim streetlights; wordlessly, he turns and gestures for her to follow__, ignoring her partner's outraged protests__._

"_Ko__ukasu__, go home and rest. Report to the station on your way back," the obvious yet subtle dismiss directs towards her guide has the man scrambling for a ninety-degree bow before retreating towards the roll of parked vehicle. _

_Her hand clenches at the handle to her emergency case__ agitatedly; neither the air of superiority nor the tone of dismiss__al__ suits her mood, and it does not help the fact that after rejoicing for having an almost full, Uchiha-free week, she __is__ seeing him again. The awkward footings and the unusual slouching of the man in front of her, however, draw her out of her endless thoughts. __Quietly berating her lack of perception, she inches towards him._

"_You are injured. That dislocated shoulder will need to be treated, as well as that wound," she nods towards the angry looking slash of red across navy fabric._

"_Tend to Hayato first," onyx eyes slants towards a hunching figure on the ground. Somehow, during her moments of withdraw they had managed to waddle through the tightly-knitted crowd and into the middle of the packed group._

_Placing her case of equipments down, she accesses the situation. "__T__rauma to the back of his head," the man to her side supplies._

"_Think __that burglar__ broke a rib as well," Hayato grunts lightly as his hands touch the side of his abdomen with a grimace. Giving a nod to her inquiry gaze, he then slumps back against the fence he leaned on._

_She sizes up the condition with a critical eye and goes straight to her work. "Stay still and don't move__; you may have a slight concussion__. Naruto, we need a stretcher here," yelling over the whispering, gasping and pointing crowd, she sends her partner running back towards the ambulance._

_Blocking out all source of distraction as she always do, she works diligently and swiftly in stabilizing the obviously cracked rib and the __small stream__ of blood pouring down the man's nape before transferring the man suffering from slight concussion onto the stretcher with the help of her blond partner._

_Slowly, she uncurls her legs underneath her and stands up with a tired sigh. Already having five hours of work under her belt and even more paper work to be filled out when she heads back, she can't help but wanting to shut her exhausted eyelids, curl into her fluffy bed and sleep the day away. Eyes glance at the second stretcher paces away; a small smile touches her lips._

"_You read my mind, Naruto." Said blond gives a toothy grin and eyes pointedly at the stoic officer at her side. _

_Two pair of eyes land on the person in question and she meets his glaring orbs wearily. It is twelve-thirty in the middle of the night, after all._

"_Sit," she points towards the empty stretcher and orders with a bland tone._

_Her order is returned with a blank stare that does all but screams 'touch me if you dare'._

_Snorting, she wonders inwardly why all men have to be such a wimp when it comes to treatment and hospital. Their male ego getting in the way does not help the situation at all._

_Nodding towards her partner, both of them advances upon the man like hunters stalking their prey; though said 'prey' has waves of irritation rolling off his shoulders and an almost murderous aura surround his person._

_Naruto pauses in mid step at the aggressiveness from the agitated Uchiha while she continues her calm steps, __closing the distance between__ them closer and closer._

_With a roll of bandage hanging on the tip of her index finger of her right hand, she stops in front of the unmoved, stiff man and tilts her head lightly._

_Black orbs drills into her emerald ones, the Uchiha growls in warning, __"Haruno."_

_Hands drop back to her side, she allows the roll of white fabric to drop onto the stretcher with a dull thud and glares into twin obsidian orbs._

"_Just s__hut up and let me do my job, Uchiha__?__" she bits out with what little energy she has left; she is tired and worn out, the least she needs now is a stubborn Uchiha adding onto her list._

_The man pauses and blinks before sit__ting__ down on the edge of the temporary bed__ with a reluctant grunt__. "Disrespectful woman."_

_She should be insulted in all sense__, but someho__w__ she finds herself smirking at the comment all the same. "Stubborn b__a__stard."_

_Though her tresses veils over her vision as her hands touches his dislocated shoulder, from the corner of her eye, she sees a mirror of a smirk gracing his lips._

"Sakura." The quiet call jolts her out of her reminiscence and back to the present. Ahead, the congestion has loosened considerably as vehicles roll forward, forming a river of slow moving steel.

A small smile graces her lips and her eyes glazes over the recalled memory, "It's nothing. Just thinking."

Obsidian eyes locks onto her face for a moment before they shifts back to the road. The rest of their trip is filled with comfortable silence with soft, quiet music playing in the background as they approach her workplace. Soon enough, the white pastel building with an entrance paved with grand, dark grey marble pulls into her sight as the bright red cross symbol looms over the busy roads.

With a smooth turn, their car stops softly in front of the employee's entrance on the back of the emergency department.

For a moment, she sits wordlessly in her seat and stares at the towering building in silence before reaching for the sleek, black handle to the door. Long, callused fingers curl around her slim wrist, successfully stopping her advances out of the vehicle. Her brows shoot up as she looks over her shoulders at the pair of endless abyss in question.

There are no words needed; to her, the worry clearly inked themselves into the depths of his fathomless eyes. And for that, she smiles softly, "Don't worry about me. I'm perfectly fine," emerald eyes harden in split seconds; with her face serious and her tone fierce, she chides, "I, however, will not be so forgiving if I find you in a bloody heap again by the end of the day simply because of your carelessness in executing your job."

Feather-light touches thumbs over her pulse once, twice before the warm restrain to her person slides away. "I am not careless." The soft words lingers between them until she decides to break away.

"Then make sure you don't break your promise to me."

A wordless nod is her only answer, and for now, that is enough. Turning, she marches towards the door that leads to another exhausting day with the soft drones of engine slowly fading into the background.

* * *

"Sakura, why are you here?"

The small device gives a shrilly 'beep' before completing the process of signing her in for the day. Swiping away the fallen strands of pink obstructing her eyesight, she turns towards the owner of the voice and slips her badge into her pocket.

"Work, Ino."

Her blonde friend hasn't change much after all the years spent in the medical school; that is, of course, excluding the the white robe she now dons as a replacement of their intern, navy blue shirts from before. With a batch of blonde covering half of her face while the rest flow smoothly down her back in a cleanly tied ponytail, watery, sapphire orbs glance her way with curiosity along with tints of bewilderment at the sight of her.

"You and I both know you've worked overtime yesterday. You should have called in sick," words sharp, her best friend since elementary school scolds her with one hand clasps on a clipboard and two folders while the other on her hips.

"I would like to keep my job," tiredness laces her voice as she comments lightly. A snort following by series of footsteps from behind, she leads the two of them towards the staff's office.

"A chance of a life time along with a _valid_ excuse for once, and you let it slip by just because your bad habit is surfacing! Forehead, how I wish I could stay home on a Valentine's day!"

Though her blonde friend can not see, she rolls her eyes at the response as she reaches towards her private locker on the wall and pulls the door open with the opened lock in her hand. Inside, several robes hang on the small rack above along with one of her spare jacket. Slipping her bag off her shoulder, she takes out her badge and places her belongings on the small shelve above all the while taking one of the white robes off its hanger.

Beside, Ino saunters against the nearby locker and watches her with piercing blue eyes. "They should make Valentine's day a national holiday," said blonde protests with pursed lips.

"Let me guess, the next would be the White Day? That would mean we would be loosing two days of work and paycheck, Ino," exasperated, she fingers the collar of her white robe with her ID hanging on the edge of her front pocket.

"But I want to spend time with Shika—"

"I don't think Haruno-sensei would want to hear your love story all over again, Yamanaka-sensei. Besides, shouldn't you be making your rounds about now?" A new voice joins their conversation as the pair looks up at to the chiding tone.

"Shizune-san." With a whirl of pink, she turns and gives a small bow to her brunette supervisor. To her side, Ino shifts restlessly, and she can't blame her. Shizune's position in the hospital is only second to that of their shishou's, and nothing escapes the eyes of Tsunade's right hand; not even when said woman is kind and understanding most of the time.

But she isn't known as the daredevil in the hospital for nothing; someone has to bring light to the gloomy hospital after all.

"So, Shizune-san."

"Hm?"

"How did it go? With you and Shiranui-san?"

Said brunette colleague sputters while her childhood friend's eyes widened before a smile breaks through the nervous facade.

Face aflamed, Shizune recollects herself hastily before slipping into a semi-serious front, "Sakura, Tsunade is informed of your doings yesterday. You are to leave at noon after your morning rounds are complete," playfully, the woman gives a smirk before turning away, "payback, Haruno."

Her playful front immediately falls; she groans. _Always the boring jobs!_

"Lucky," Ino murmurs under her breath as they make way towards the exit.

* * *

Heavy foot steps pounding on the pavement outside draws her attention as her wondering feet brings her to the front entrance of the emergency room. A glance at the grim faces of the paramedics along the side of the stretcher tells half of the story.

To her, this is just a routine just like any other day; seeing patients being carried in by stretchers and walking out on their own has been her dream, and for this, she often finds herself lounging in the ER, always ready to give a helping hand. Slowly, she approaches the group of men and women clad in navy blue suits with hurried steps along with several of her colleagues.

"What's going on here?"

"Senshuui Tashike, twenty-eight of age suffers a serious hemorrhage from a trauma to the back of the skull, two bullets wounds on the lower left thigh, a fracture to the right elbow and possible concussion due to another trauma to the forehead," a young man in his mid twenties huffs as he gives a brief description and his condition of their patient.

In a flash, a man a head taller than her blocks her path to the bloody scene. "I'll take this one, Haruno-sensei. You need your rest; your shift will be over soon."

On the edge of protest, she starts, "Ryuusuke-sensei, this one is serious—"

The medic slants a questioning gaze towards them as he comments while they make their way towards the hallway leading to the spare room, "We called in ten minutes ago for an advance preparation on the possible surgery."

Her head snaps up and her eyes narrows as jade eyes follows her fellow colleague with suspicion; her fingers clinched over the pager clipping silently onto the left pocket on her robe, "Call? How come I heard nothing about it? Surely they will need help; I'm a surgeon as well—"

"Haruno-sensei, please allow me to handle this. Tsunade-sama would have my job if I disobey her orders," giving a nervous smile, Ryuusuke speeds up until his long strides matches the accelerating stretcher.

The fidgeting medic looks from her to Ryuusuke and back with a slight confusion before he recomposes himself. "No need to look so disappointed, there's another one right after this one."

Aside, Ryuusuke looks up looking alarmed and angst, "Another? The call you sent only stated one patient! Haruno-sensei—"

Decides that she has enough of the man's interference and plans to have a nice, long talk with him on a later date, she turns away from the agitated surgeon and trains her eyes on the medic instead, "Thank you for informing me of that, I will be waiting on them at the entrance if that's the case."

Behind her, she hears a grumble of sorts before hurried steps slowly died down and fades along the long, empty hallway. Hands push on the black calling device, she sends her team the short, urgent message before making her way back to the ER. Heels clicking against pure white tiles are all she can hear as her mind whirls around her colleague's strange behavior. _What is going on here?_

Ahead, the red lights of the ambulance flashes through the translucent glass door as a flash of blond rushes into the building.

"Naruto," she frowns as she makes her way towards the blond. The air of seriousness blankets her former partner, who always has on a playful smirk no matter how bad the situation may be. The scent of copper stronger than the chlorine-filled atmosphere spikes into her nostrils. Eyes trailing that splatters of crimson down the arm and onto the man on the stretcher with blood caking every visible part of his skin, Sakura hears her heart gives one painful thud before everything becomes eerily quiet.

"Sakura-chan! Why are you—" Weary cerulean eyes glance up in time to catch her own as Naruto's incredulous eyes widened at the sight of her standing before him.

Vaguely, she feels her limbs starting to drag her numb body towards the stretcher. Eyes land on one of the numerous gaping wounds and the pooling blood, her heart sinks. Even with the skin marred with crimson and tears, she can still recognize him. The flowing raven locks that went untied during the transport, the lean, slender build, and the two slanted lines itched into his skin along the bridge of his nose and down to the high cheek bones… _she can recognize him anywhere, no matter what._

Clearing her throat in attempt to swallow the prickles on the back of her throat, she starts with a carefully bland tone, "Status?" Determined to put up a strong front, she forcefully tears her eyes away from the whiskered face contorting with anguish and disbelieve, but the sympathy still leaks through and reaches into her ears.

"Sakura-chan—"

"Report!"

"…Uchiha Itachi, twenty-five of age. Multiply fractures to the limbs, bullet pierced to the femoral artery on both thighs. Hemorrhage shock stage five. Trauma to the head with possible fracture skull and concussion. Conscious level falls to three a minute ago. About two thousand cc of blood lost. We've tried to replenish the lost, but it's no use."

She curses out loud at the synthesis; her grip on the stretcher tightens as she motions the group of grim face medics forward. "Wheel him to room three, we'll be treating him there."

Another flash of blonde catches in the corner of her eye, and before she can utter a word, a nervous voice speaks up, "Sakura, what's going on? Your shift—"

"—is not over. Gather your team, Ino. Meet me in ER three, ASAP," she spares her friend a split seconds of attention before turning back towards the mingled man lying motionlessly on the stretcher. _This cannot be happening._

"Take care, Sakura-chan. They want my back to the scene." The melancholy tone drifts over her as she gives the blond a haste nod before disappearing behind the double doors.

Clattering heels and squeaking wheels pour surprisingly loud into her eardrums along with the rapid drumming of her heart. The swift encouragement made by nearby medics to their patient falls on deaf ears as she glances at Itachi's pale white profile and tightly shut eyelids that contrasts deeply against the crimson coating his person. Her innards twist painfully against her ribs as she prays that she is not too late.

The group rushes through another set of double doors as they enter the sterilized hallway stemming off to different rooms. Already waiting at the third door down are the rest of her cell members as they greet her with pale, white faces that she knew mirrors off her own.

"There's no time to wait for the rest, we have to start now or we'll loose him!" The thick, warm liquid underneath her double gloved hands continues to flow freely as she directs her team with orders. From the corner of her eye, she sees another thin but steady stream of red pouring out of a newly opened wound and cursed. Robe-clad bodies scurry around the enclosed room as each struggles through carts of supplies and shelves of IV needles.

"Transferring on my count: one, two, three!" Numerous hands straining as they lift their patient from the makeshift stretcher to the steel table with a heave.

"It's okay, Uchiha-san, you are at the hospital now. You are going to be fine."

"Excuse me, I will be removing the clothes now."

"Someone run a ECHO scan please! If there is time, do a CT scan as well."

"I'm on it, Haruno-sensei."

"A-line—"

"I'm on it!"

"Prepare intubations with tube seven, please."

"Working on it."

"Shizuka, I need two bags of platelets and two bags of red corpuscles, he's loosing too much blood."

"Understood."

"Haruno-sensei, his blood pressure is eighty, fifty."

"Izumi, prepare epinephrine. We can't let his blood pressure topple over."

"Sakaku, get as many sterile towel you can and clear an operation room for us. We need those wounds closed fast!"

Then the doors slammed open as Ino and her group of surgeons steps into the room. "Sakura, I got here as soon as I can with my team—"

The loud beep of the machine blaring across the room, bouncing off walls and floors with blots of red. All eyes turns towards the flat, green line displays on the monitor and the warning red light; strings of profanity fills the air.

Eyes rounded, she rushes over to side of the stretcher. To her horror, he had stopped breathing. "Shit!"

"His vital signs are failing!"

"Someone get me the defibrillator to a hundred and seventy joules now!"

A pair of paddles connect to the defibrillator are pushed into her blood-coated hands, absentminded, she nods with thanks. Lifting her eyes once to direct a warning to the surrounding people, she gives one last nod before training her eyes once again on her patient.

"Clear!"

His chest jerks upwards as sharp currents jolt through his system. Worried eyes stare at the screen with disappointment; the red line remained flat without a hitch.

"Move it up to a hundred ninety. We're doing it again."

"Haruno-san—"

"No! We can still bring him back. Clear!"

Again. Again. Breath. Breath. _Please._

"Haruno-sensei! His kidney function is falling to thirty percent!"

A pair of slender hands manages to pry the pair of paddles from her knuckle-white fingers. With the instrument out of reach, frustration and fear skyrockets. Acting purely on instinct, she places her palms atop of each other and presses them onto the cleared torso and pushes.

Thirty compressions, two breathes. Repeat. Again. Again. "Breath, damn it! Breath!" Eyes shifts between the monitor and the motionless man, she pleads inwardly. _Please!_ As if submerged into water, noises and sounds dull into soft mutters as if someone draws up a curtain around her and the rest. It doesn't matter how many pair of hands tries to pull her away from him nor the lean fingers shackling her wrist; none of it matters.

"Damn it, Itachi. Don't do this to me!"

"Sakura, that's enough! All his vital organs are failing; there is no way you can bring him back now!" Ino's trembling pleads goes unheard against her ears; even with the hand holding her own down, she will not stop, _cannot_ stop.

"No! He can still be brought back!" _I can still save him._

Somewhere along the shouts and yells, her vision blurs and the outlines of the paper white face is covered with a hazy mist. Something warm trickles down her cheeks as she gasps for air between pants and sobs; her fingernails dig into her opened palm as she continues to perform the compressions without fail. All she can see now is the loving face that bid her goodbye earlier today; all she wants now is for him to open his eyes, the pair of eyes she knows so well, to see her, to tell her everything is alright.

_It's okay. Everything will be fine. I will bring you back. You won't break your promise to me._

_

* * *

_

A/N: First AU attempt: a be-lated Valentine's Day story. Orginally planned as an one-shot, but it got so long I had to cut it into parts (still doesn't know how long it will be).

There are still problems with transitions (emotionally) in this chapter that I can not fix (for some weird reason), so I'm not particularly happy with it, but due to the already late promise, I want to get this out. Therefore I'll leave it as it is. Depending on the responses, I might attempt a re-write to make it better.

Concerning the medical school/hospital Sakura went/works for, I just picked one out of a list (making one up doesn't seem right), so don't feel offended in any way. All medical references are from Internet researches and watching dramas such as ER, Code Blue. If there is any error, don't be afraid to leave a message to correct me.

I'm aiming for the next update to be on the fourteenth of March (also known as the White day in Japan, in which guys gets to return the affection/favor to the girls while on Valentine's Day, only girls presents gifts to guys), but there is no guarantee that it will be out by then or even early; so please be patient. I know that it's such a bad place to cut as a chapter, but believe me, there is no other place to do so other than this one, so do bear with me until the next one comes out.

There are a lot of points that are not cleared in this chapter that will be explained in the next, but post your questions anyways as I will try my best to answer them without spoiling the upcoming plot.

Hope you guys enjoy reading it, reviews and constructive criticisms are greatly welcome and appreciated!

Envo 02/20


	2. Chapter 2

Title- Bitter Sweet

By- Envo

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 2

_"You never leave someone behind; you take a part of them with you and leave a part of yourself behind." - Author Unknown_

-

Her eyes flew open amidst of breathless gasps.

The scenes that had haunted her moments earlier still slid by carelessly before her unseeing eyes. Her muscles were strung with stress and her skin was blanketed with a fine sheen of perspiration. The frenzy drumming of her heart beating against her ribcage robbed her of her breath. She was burning inside, consumed by the boiling turmoil. Yet on the outside she was ice-cold.

She trembled. The shiver ran deep beneath her skin as sheets rustled around her form, defenseless against the assaults of horrifying images swimming before her eyes and the violent turbulence coursing within her veins. Her mouth was dry with the taste of terror lingering on her tongue and the darkness surrounding her did not help in calming her mood.

Then, like a ray of light piercing through the darkness, warmth started to seep into her and trickles into her bloodstream. The soothing sensation spread from her back and traveled the length of her body until she could feel herself free from the paralyzing effect that held her in place. Her previously taut muscles lax as pictures fade from her eyesight. Unconsciously, she leaned back towards the heat source from behind, when said source _shifted_.

Belatedly, she became aware that the heat circling her back was not from the comfort of her blanket, but instead originated from another body lying behind her. Almost immediately, her body tensed and stiffened. The arm that was casually draping over her midriff constricted lightly, drawing her attention to the body mass pressing so intimately _close _to hers.

Neck straining and eyes widened, she twisted her body, rumpling the sheets and search the space beside hers. Even though the crowding darkness obscured most of her sight, and even though the minuscule lights crept through the open window barely lit the gloomy sable corners of her room, she could still recognize the eyes that gazed down at her without skipping a heartbeat. Doe-like, almost feminine eyes of obsidian glimmered in the stygian background, and when she looked into those tunnels of never-ending pits, she was immediately lost like a dear caught in headlights. Dazedly, she felt her hands reaching up to trace a shaky path from the corner of one onyx orb and down to the corner of the lips before falling away numbly. Her heart squeezed almost painfully in her chest. So _familiar_.

The enormity slowly dawned, and with it came the burn at the corners of her eyes.

Without a thought, she burrowed deep into his arms. Too drunk on the musky masculine scent that was so uniquely his, she did not noticed the subtle stillness in his composure before disappearing when she twined herself onto him like vise, tangling their limbs in the process. Her palm, flattened against his clothed torso, shook as steady pulsates beat strongly underneath her fingertips.

_Bah Thump. Bah Thump._

Relief came at her like a series of shock waves, claiming her in every corner and washed away all uneasiness and edginess. As if she was freed from the sea of anxiety when a tranquil breeze parted all the worries and took away the heavy chain of panic and fright. The change was immense, and all at once, floods of emotion coursed through her to the point where she could not tell one end from another. She felt light; the heavy bundle of emotions nestled in her abdomen was no longer there to hold her down.

Vaguely aware of her hand clenching at his bicep, she allowed the rivers of tears to free-fall down her cheeks.

"You are here."

The quivering, hoarse murmur was the only thing her tight throat could muster as she repeated over and over again. It no longer occurred to her that the words uttered were incoherent with her cracked and slurred voice; the only thing that mattered the most was the reiterating confirmation of his presence.

"You really are here with me… Itachi."

The hand circling the small of her back paused. Then with one swift movement, the remaining space between them disappeared as she was tugged snugly underneath his chin. An index finger came under her chin and gently yet insistently baring her tear-stained face for him to examine freely. But she wasn't ready. With her eyes shut, she shook her head lightly and hid herself back into his embrace. Moments later, she felt the lone finger slid up from her chin to the corner of her lips, then up to intersect with strands of tear trials on her redden cheeks. His soft caress only brought on more tears as he gently wiped away the excess moist on her face with a sigh.

The chanting mantra slowly died at her lips, but with wisps of hot tears still sliding down her cheeks and the simmering sentiments just barely controlled, she was still afraid. Afraid that he was only a ghostly image conjured by her beyond desperate mind, afraid that once she left his embrace and open her eyes, everything would disappear. And that he would be gone. The thought drove another wave of fresh tears down the corner of her tightly shut eyes. She could only pour all the 'unsaid' in forms of tears into his shirt while her other hand muffled the endless string of miserable sobs torn of her body.

She didn't know how long she stayed lying there with constant tears streaming down her face. When there were no more tears to shed, she was content in listening to their combined breathing and drinking in his scent like an addicting drug while the lulling drumming palpitate by her ears. The hot breaths fanning her nape coupled with the warmth surrounding her slowly pushing her towards the unconscious world and into the realm of sleep. Alarmed, her eyes shot wide; instantly, she found herself looking straight into his eyes.

He held her gaze steadfastly. Slowly, the tight knot in her abdomen began to untie themselves and she let out a breath she did not realize holding. Her eyes were opened wide, and her Itachi was still here with her. It was not a part of her feverish hallucination…this was _real_.

He continued to draw mindless circles on her back while their gazes locked onto each other. The breeze seeped through the window and grazed by exposed skin. One loose strand of hair slipped past her shoulder and tickled her chin. A faraway siren sounded, and another one followed. She blinked, and the trance was broken. That was when her wondering eyes noticed the hard set of his jaw and the swirling unknown in the pair of usually veiled and guarded eyes.

Guilt quickly ebbed through the surface. Ashamed, she lowered her eyes and brought her hands to his drenched shirt.

"I worry you. I'm sorry." The words barely made it past her raw throat; her raspy voice made her wince.

Blankets rustled, and she found herself once again tugged tightly against him. Heat immediately made their way under her skin, warming her to her very toes. She closed her eyes and sighed tiredly.

"Dream?" The quiet inquiry penetrated the fog of sleep, and she found herself nodding lightly in response. Warm air stirred loose her hair and a sigh followed before the bed shifted. Immediately her eyes shot open.

"What are you doing, Itachi?"

The silhouette beside her continued to move away as she felt their limbs untangled from one another. The rapidly dissipating warmth was replaced by cool air that raised goose bumps on her skin.

"You should stay home today."

With surprisingly difficulty, she reached out to his side of the mattress, but found him already standing at the end of their bed. The placid tone had heightened the chill in the air, and panic stole into her quick to hysteria mind.

Swallowing the lump in her throat and ignoring the alarm sounding in her head, she attempted to sit up. "Itachi, where are you going?"

The backward glance was anything but reassuring. "Stay in bed, Sakura. It's dawn, work is calling." And with that, he turned away and strode towards the door.

Trepidation consumed her. The surges of recently controlled emotions ran loose once again, and she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, echoing in the soon-to-be empty room.

"Wait, Itachi—" Her hands suddenly gave out from beneath her and dropped her back onto the mattress. Her fingers clawed at the sheets that seemed to be slipping out of her fingertips. Desperate, she called out again, "Itachi, wait!"

She was sinking, held down by a bed of quicksand. It didn't matter how much she struggled, there was no way out. And as his shadow slowly disappeared from the corner of her eyes, she was nearly choking with dread. Her croaking cries were silent in her ears, and her limbs were laden as if chained. Basking in the dawning light, there was nothing in her vision but the pure white blaze. The walls were closing in, and the pressure was skyrocketing. Breathing was no longer an option. Wild fire burned down her throat with each breath, and the inferno soon spread through her lungs. The soft and soothing lights turned to flames licking at her skin and consuming everything in her sight and transforming the peaceful white into a living hell with its bright orange glow.

The painful silence at her ears mocked at her throat's effort. But inside, she was screaming. Even as darkness took her, she was still screaming—

* * *

"Itachi!!"

Like an invisible hand, the cry wrenches her body forward from the comfort of her bed as her eyes flies open with urgency. The immediate assaults of bright light and heavy pounding behind her eyes make her collapses back onto the bed with a hiss. The palm shielding her eyes from the rays touches upon wet skin, making her pause. Slowly sitting up again with squinted eyes, her fingers finding numerous traces of tear trials left on her face, and when her other hand braces her weight against the pillow, she shockingly find the casing drenched with moist. Her hand recoils as if burnt.

The hammering in her head only intensifies further as she cradles her hand to her chest and shies away from the blinding brightness, turning away from the window. To the other side of the bed.

In her own shadow, her eyes take in the neatly tuck, untouched sheets while her hand, on its own accord, reaches towards the bedspread. Underneath her stretching fingertips, she can almost see him with his lashes fanning his cheekbones resting peacefully, as if it is just another morning and she wakes to find him soundly asleep. As if… nothing happened.

Then her hand touches upon _cold_ sheets, and the illusion disperses into fragments. A shudder steals through her person and her palm suddenly feels too warm against the chilly fabric. She raises her hand to her eyes, only to discover it caked with a viscous coat of blood.

Choking on her scream, she leaps out of the bed with sheets in tow and heads straight towards the bathroom. She doesn't stop as she speeds by the numerous bouquets lay unwrapped on the kitchen isle; she doesn't spare a glance towards the yellow envelope sitting quietly next her chain of keys with the all-too-familiar address from her supervisor. All she does is flipping on the switch to the lights located in the small rectangle restroom and slams open the door.

The facet is running and the ice-cold water streams down her fingers. She knows the water draining down the pipe is clear, but the sensation on her hand is all too real. Blood had been all over her gloved hands when she tried to revive him that day, but even without the glove, she had felt the slickness of the life fluid as she frantically performs CPR. It is a sensation she wishes she could forget, a sensation she wishes she never had to feel. It has already been weeks since then, and she can still feel the warm liquid smear across her palm and hear the monotone, unstopped beep of the ICU monitor from time to time.

Her eyes float to the small orange bottle, next to the two toothbrushes on the edge of the vanity counter, and lands onto the round, white pills lying within. She couldn't sleep at night, and when she does, she dreams of him, and the replaying scenes of loosing him over and over. So she turns to the pills. But it doesn't help her case. It only worsens.

She twists the facet handle and shuts off the flow of water. Nothing works; there is nothing to take the pain away from her, nothing to lessen the guilt that grips her day and night.

Her eyes catch the reflection in peripheral view, and she finds herself looking into the mirror at a person she cannot recognize. Pale pallor and slightly sunken cheeks emphasizes the palpable cheekbones. Crack, bloodless lips parts with its corners turning downwards as tousled pink hair forms a sharp contrast with the unhealthy appearance while red, puffed up eyes lined with dark bags gazes back at her.

She watches as thin fingers reach up and brushes by pasty skin with morbid wonder. She never looks into the mirror, not since that day. And now as she gazes at herself, a sense of loss wells up inside her. _Was it only weeks ago when he left?_ Somehow, time has left its trace on her despite its short passage.

Tearing her eyes away, she reopens the facet and splashes water onto her face to clear away the fog gathering at the corner of her eyes. Then without looking back at the mirror, she dries her hands, turns, and walks out of the door.

Her feet brings her pass the kitchen and the living room, pass the door leading to the bed she leaped away from moments earlier and stops in front of the ceiling to floor, glass window that overlooks the abuzz roads and the heavily veiled mountain tops faraway on the line of horizon.

Below, the congestion is still is busy as ever; with bustling streets and crowded sidewalks, the lively city is divided up with twists and turns of slow moving streams. Somewhere far off, a honking horn pierces through the otherwise silent room along with the trickling beams of soft light through the clear pane of glass.

_Tick. Tock._

Inside, the insistent hands on the clock keeps its pace as the measured time slips slowly by with each jerky movement. The seeping ray sends sparks across the well-furnished living room, revealing swaying dances of small specs in the air.

_Tick. Tock._

She inhales slowly as she counts the seconds passing by. Six hundred and seventy-two hours ago, her life had been nothing but the ordinary. Twenty-eight days later, she is lost. One month after, it still feels like a dream; a nightmare she'll wake up from and find herself incased within his arms, with her head tuck beneath his chin and strong, steady beats of his heart lulling and soothing her nerves.

_Tick. Tock._

Everything is the same. The house, the furniture, nothing has changed; trances of him can be found everywhere. His scent still lingers in every corner of their flat, bringing her memories that tear apart her already shattered heart even more. Sometimes, just sometimes, she still expects him to walk through that door with that same stride she became so familiar with; that sometimes, she still waits for the turn of the knob at the end of the day.

_Tick. Tock._

But now, all that is left of him is the scent accompanying her long, lonely nights and pieces of memory captured by their digital camera.

_You said you would return to me at the end of the day. You promised._

"You broke your promise, Itachi."

* * *

Her hand touches the white marble slab pillowing on a slightly larger, dark grey granite tablet. The stone, a touch warmer than its natural chill after bathing under the rays of sun for the entire morning, seems to glimmer under the gentle light in her eyes. Dusting away debris invisible to her eyes, she let her eyes wander across the letters curved into the plaque and swallows with difficulty.

A breeze passes by, tugging free stray strands of hair behind her ears; immediately, her eyes latches onto her hair as she forcefully blinks away the sting at the corner of her eyes. The hand grasping a simple bouquet of daisies and forget-me-not's tightens.

One mouth and two weeks… and it still hurt.

The shower of carnation moves in slow motion as she watches petals fly and land by her feet. Its familiar shape and lazy, twirl movement in the wind draws her into herself; into piece of memory she tuck away. _Summer. Picnic. Park. Tree. Petals. Flowers. Hands. Holding—_She clamps her eyes shut. Not that. not now.

Placing the bundle of flower down before the smooth plate curved with his name, she straightens her form and heaves a subtle, trembling sigh.

Opening her eyes, she looks at the strokes that makes up his name and manages a weak smile. "Got yourself in trouble… as always." The sudden image of his glare with flashing ire stills her quivering lips.

"You left me in an awkward situation, you know?" She can feel her smile slipping.

"It is neither here or there," she pauses and breathes in deeply to stall the impending sting pricking at the corners of her eyes, "a-and you know I really hate that."

It is the second breath, and the lump seems worsen even more. "Inconsiderate… tactless… idiot."

The tingles in her nostrils tell her she cannot hold out any longer before the dam breaks. Her fists clench tightly until she feels the uncomfortable strain on her knuckles, then she breathes in and tries again.

"But I… I forgive you," the soreness crawls up her throat and her face scrunches at the impending sting, "for getting into trouble that you cannot fix." It hurts to breathe.

"I-I'll overlook your inconsiderateness… I won't even hold it against you for being such a tactless idiot…"

"I… for leaving—" the first drop of tears slips out of her eyes and slide down her cheek, "I just… I miss you, Itachi." They keep coming, one after another; she doesn't bother to stop the free-flowing droplets as they roll heavily down her face and splats onto the tip of her shoes.

Her sobs ring loudly in the silent cemetery, and soon, she is grasping for breath in between hiccups and whimpers. Her nails are biting into her palm in painful half-moons and she can feel her top slowly soaking in the constant drop of tears. "I miss you… _so much_."

Warmth envelops her as she feels the wind's brush against her wet cheeks and draws her stray hair back, away from her face. She stares dazedly at the mesmerizing play of swirling sakura petals and occasional leaves whirl around her. The motion of graceful glide in empty space draws her into a trance until one of the petals lazily grazes across the back of her hand. The soft, ghostly sensation releases her of its enthrall.

Feeling the pain on her palms and the numbing along her fingers, she uncurls her hand and wipes away the chilled lines of tears hastily. The breeze still embraces her and the chase of petals and leaves is still on the play, but with her mind distracted momentarily of the paralyzing anguish and unadulterated forlorn, she is able to remember the words she want to say… to him.

"_Sakura, letting go is also a lesson you must learn as a surgeon. Just because you save lives from death's door doesn't mean you can do it every time; we are only human, not God. The both of you fought hard, and that's all that matters."_

Her lips parts with a shuddered breath as she places a hand over her staggering heart. "I-It's not as easy to overcome this hurt as you said, Itachi. But I… I remembered."

"_If something were to happen to me, I want you to move on, Sakura. Live… and be yourself."_

A bitter smile finds its way onto the corner of her lips as she recalls the sudden declaration when he came home that night many, many months ago; words that she only reclaimed weeks ago when she was nearly overcome with grief and guilt and on the verge of losing herself.

"You are still taking care of me… even now." Turning her face heavenward, she looks up at the puff of white cloud that is drifting by. "Thank you."

The soothing zephyr carries into the background; in the still air, the sobs and hiccups slowly subside, leaving her stolen by the quiet and tranquil air and a sense of calm.

"It won't be easy; you took a part of me when you left. But I… I will try to keep that promise."

She tucks her hand into her left pocket. "You know, you are not off the hook yet." Her hand fiddles with the smooth, circular band between her fingers, and with a small smile she gazes at his name, "I will be expecting you to keep your promise to me in the next life. You still owe me an apology, a kiss, … and a wedding."

* * *

A/N: Result of 'One-week-challenge' from Bob-geko. Yes, _Bitter Sweet_ is finally updated and finished. For the really long wait, I offer my deepest apology. This story is perhaps by far the hardest I've ever written. And very much like I told Bob-geko, there not a time I touch _Bitter Sweet_ without ending up extremely depressed (well, the plot is formed when I was really down, so go figures). But nonetheless, it is done, leaving me both sad and happy at the same time.

I tried my best to convey the sense of loss; because sometimes, happy endings just don't happen for some. Since I've been writing quite a few happy stories, I figured that one of these sad ones will balance out the phases of reality a little better.

I realized that there are still a few strings that are still hanging freely and quite a few more things that still need explaining, so I'm considering doing an one-shot on the basis of Sakura and Itachi's relationship. That, however, will depend on the time I'm allot to write with my schedule now, so we'll see from here.

Again, I'd like to thank my reviewers and readers for sticking with me for so long. And I hope this update lives up to the previous chapter. Reviews are extremely encouraging for me to keep writing.

Envo 01/12


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